What is the cost?
Luk 14:25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
Luk 14:26 If any
man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have
sufficient to finish
it?
Luk 14:29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish
it, all that behold
it begin to mock him,
Luk 14:30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
Luk 14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
Luk 14:32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
Luk 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
We live in a world of $$$$ materialism. We see animals, blood, death...
But there is a deeper cost that casts no mortal shadow. And that cost is of the heart.
I posted a video a few pages back with a chapter from the bible.
God is speaking to his children. Some people are "tone" deaf though, and they can't hear the agony and suffering God is feeling for his children who have sold their souls to vanity.
In order for Abraham to follow God, he would need to scarifice his only son Isaac.
Suppose Abraham had to reason in himself if 1. he could follow through with it? 2. the promise was worth the sacrifice?
Do you suppose Abraham had a war going on in his mind?
This war of the mind is the beginning of the cost.
It causes conflict, doubt, fear, what if??? all these are a cost of the peace within us.
Jesus (the Word)
In the days of Noah, God spoke, and he said he would destroy all life from the earth because it had become so evil.
those words once spoken would not come back without a result.
Once spoken it needed to be fulfilled.
God put a clause in it. He made a way for humanities existence by finding Noah a Just man, and saving his life and the world of generations to come.
Now God would have to consider in his heart, was man worth saving?
How much more suffering and pain am I able to abide for the creation of my own hands?
God had to count the cost.
God was in the process of creating a world where those whom he loved, loved him back.
That tower in the parable is humanity.
The world once again took the wrong path. God spoke the Word, and the Word bacame flesh.
That Word became God's son.
God would have to sacrifice his own child to save the world... again.
In the case of Abraham God made a way for Isaac by providing a ram in his place.
But in order to truly redeem man from all sin, God would have to have his son finish it.
There could be no subtitute.
What was the cost God paid to watch his son die for the world?
What cost was the Word willing to fulfill in order to lay that solid foundation?
It would cost faith, trust, hope, love, mercy, goodness, longsuffering..
Every fruit would need to be engaged in the battle.
The battle of self (the Truth) over the world (the man)
We know Jesus went up to the mountain and prayed... a lot.
On earth, all of his followers believed he was the King on earth. And he probably could have aquired that crown and ruled for a duration of time.
Until old age set in and he would die a carnal death like the way of all earthly kings.
On the other hand, he was faced with an eterenal promise of Glory and an endless sea of children that would love him forever and ever.
Could he do it?
Jesus had to count the cost.
Will I be able to lay my life down as Isaac did, and put my life in my Father's hands without reservation?
Would my faith be strong enough?
Cost doesn't always come in the form of material gain or loss.
Most times cost comes from the heart.
And a willingness to give everything of oneself for those they love.
Jhn 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Abraham was God's friend. God made Abraham a promise. He gave Abraham his Word.
And his Word was sent to fulfill that promise.
And those that have the faith of Abraham and believe in Jesus Christ, God's son whom he sent to save the world,
have received the promise.
One must only believe....
How much does that belief cost in a world of material gain?
Just thinking..
Hugs
